Crisis of Confidence
by Daddy Hayden
Summary: Wat Tambor is replaced as Techno Union foreman after the Battle of Geonosis. How might a change in Separatist leadership at such a critical juncture affect the outcome of the Clone Wars? OC main character, will eventually be epic length. Will pull lots of content from Legends. M for future chapters
1. Chapter 1

This is my first attempt at publishing something. This chapter will be the shortest by a long shot, and the story as a whole will almost certainly approach 300k words or more if I maintain interest. Feedback is appreciated.

XxX

Seb massaged his temples and tried to calm his nerves. He'd been woken up by his comm buzzing just an hour ago, but already he felt like he had aged a decade since.

The reason he had been disturbed at such an hour was understandable, and any indignation at losing sleep was swallowed up by the magnitude of the news. The board had lost confidence in Wat Tambor following the disaster on Geonosis. Shareholders had been promised a quick conclusion to the conflict, and the nasty surprise that was the Clone Army evaporated any such hope. Failure to anticipate preparation on the Republic's part was taken as a sign Tambor's judgement was no longer sound. A new foreman, one equipped to handle this… extraordinary situation was needed.

Seb was the new foreman of the Techno Union. Every few minutes the immensity of that fact seemed to hit him again. He had previously been the Chief Logistics Officer at Republic Sienar Systems, which meant managing a supply chain involving nearly a thousand contractors, big and small, as well as a portfolio of products numbering in the hundreds. The Techno Union was more than an order of magnitude larger still. Trillions of credits. Millions of workers, and droids beyond counting.

He tried a breathing exercise from some book his secretary had recommended him. It didn't help. Force, he had a _war_ on his hands. And he was responsible for the manufacture of practically every product that would see action.

He'd been pacing uneasily since hanging up. Maybe watching something would distract him. Seb grabbed the dataslate lying on his bedside table and settled on the edge of his bed. Selecting a news feed from the HoloNet, he groaned immediately. Why did he think this would help? The anchor was detailing the "slaughter" of most of the "jedi peacekeeping force" on Geonosis. It had already started. There was probably a Republic intelligence operative coaching her.

It was all so tiresome. Why did such an incredible opportunity need to be packaged with the biggest headache imaginable? Yesterday he was reading delivery manifests, tomorrow he might be reading casualty reports.

Standing, Seb grabbed his comm and started changing into fresh clothes. He wasn't getting any more sleep with what was now hanging over his head, so he may as well begin getting his arms around this mess.

XxX

Next chapter will likely be posted this weekend. I posted this short intro to gauge interest and get something, anything up.


	2. Chapter 2

Seb glanced over at his frazzled secretary and smirked. The silver lining to this situation being sprung on him was that his secretary had to suffer with him. She had been woken abruptly, like him, by him, and called to his office shortly after he had dressed.

Truthfully, the woman was dramatically overqualified to be his assistant. Her engineering background was sufficient to let her forge her own path in Sienar Systems, but she had remained with him anyway. She had rationalized it, explaining that playing second fiddle to the top man in logistics was still more prominent than being in the trenches with the other engineers. The compensation was better too, though that was mostly his own doing. Why wasn't especially important to him. She was sharp as a vibroblade, and Seb knew he could rely on her for counsel, no matter how technical the issue. She could probably do his job in a pinch if he was being honest.

She was in a massive conference call with her counterparts in the offices of the rest of the new Separatist Council. Something he couldn't hear made her grimace, before pinching the bridge of her nose. His assistant started writing something as she spoke. Seb looked on curiously. She passed the note over to him once she was finished.

'Raxus Secundus - tomorrow. Council meeting (not remote)'

'So it begins,' Seb thought. It seems he didn't even get twenty-four hours to get acclimated. Not that it'd be of much help. He needed to bury himself in his work to stop worrying. Jumping right in might actually be for the best.

It seemed the call had ended, as his assistant was now reaching into her bag for something - oh, caf pills. She had learned over the years the value of having a bag with the essentials packed at all times. There was no such thing as nighttime for a galactic enterprise. Calls came at the strangest hours. Like earlier this morning.

"Sarisa, what do they need us in person for?" Seb asked.

"Well, in light of the Separatist movement's new legal status, or lack thereof, they want to establish a government on Raxus. As you might imagine, Mr. Troia, this is important enough to warrant the presence of the entire Council." Seb rolled his eyes. He tired of formalities quickly and asked her to use his first name. She rarely did, and Seb was pretty sure she didn't simply to annoy him.

"Did they say why Raxus of all places is the location? Not exactly a hub of activity."

Sarisa gave Seb a long-suffering look. "Yes, why not establish the seat of government on an industrial hellscape like Metalorn? Exactly the image the CIS wants to project."

Seb sighed. Maybe putting her in a bad mood wasn't as amusing as he thought it'd be. He wondered how long he'd have to suffer this sort of verbal abuse before she relaxed. "I'm just surprised at the good sense is all. You joke about Metalorn but an industrial world is exactly the sort of place these people would select. Someone with a mind for something that isn't manufacturing or finance must be involved."

Sarisa got up and zipped up her bag. Brushing off his response, she replied, "Whatever the case, we're just lucky it's only a couple sectors away. It'd be physically impossible to make this meeting if we were on the wrong side of the galaxy." She smoothed the loose shirt she was wearing before looking down in distaste at her sweatpants. He hadn't given her much time to get ready. "I'm going to change and charter a transport. We should leave within the hour. I'll buzz you when I have a ship and a pad number."

Times like these he wished he had his own personal transport. It had never been necessary because most of Seb's work was remote and didn't require leaving his office on Centares. With his new responsibilities he should probably start having pilots vetted.

XxX

It was rather undignified, but it'd have to do. Sarisa had found a ship, and it wasn't a transport. For people, anyway. An independent freight hauler had a week-long layover on Centares and was willing to take them provided they covered fuel costs along with a hefty premium.

Seb examined the freighter apprehensively as he approached the entrance ramp. The early morning light allowed him to see the absence of rust or grime on the hull. It was well maintained at least. 'I hope I'm not hitching a ride with a spice smuggler.' Inside was much the same. Clean and in good repair.

Not seeing the ship's owner or Sarisa, Seb took to wandering the ship. It seemed outfitted for some manner of specialty cargo, because the cargo areas were all fashioned with hermetically sealing doors. Maybe something that would corrode if exposed to the air? That probably crossed off anything illicit as far as he knew, which was reassuring at least. 'I wonder where we'll be staying.' Rounding a corner, he nearly bowled Sarisa over.

She recovered and pinned him with a glare. He could tell she had returned to her apartment before coming here. She was dressed every bit as smart as usual, barring earlier the same day of course. She had donned a collared beige satin shirt and a black skirt. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun, completing the look that was effectively her uniform.

"It's been an hour since the time I told you to be here." Why was she so indignant? And it had only been thirty minutes.

Treading carefully, Seb said, "I just wanted to make sure I had what I needed in case we have an extended stay. They didn't tell us how long all this would take."

That didn't placate her. "Well every minute you spent was another I had to deal with that insufferable man. You know he wanted us to sleep in one of the cargo areas? I'm not going to suffocate just because I forget I'm not supposed to close the door. And the haggling to even get him to leave on such short notice… it's a good thing your salary is going to change along with your new job. Otherwise we'd have to find a new greasy old man to take us to Raxus," she finished breathlessly.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with this but you know it was unavoidable. I'm considering hiring a pilot so we can be ferried around without this hassle." Seb adopted a thoughtful look. "Honestly, I'll probably need to regardless for security reasons."

That prospect seemed to brighten Sarisa's mood, if only slightly. "Well make sure whoever it is doesn't make passes at me." Ignoring Seb's raised eyebrow, she continued, "I've taken the opportunity your tardiness presented to get our sleeping arrangements squared away."

Sarisa led him down a corridor away from the cargo areas. "It's not exactly a luxury suite, but I've convinced the captain to clear his belongings out of the crew quarters. He doesn't need it since the 'crew' is just him. The bunks are without mattresses but I got some mats so we'll at least have something approximating a bed."

Arriving at the "crew quarters", which consisted of a double bunk and a small attached bathroom, Seb set about arranging his luggage in their temporary abode. "I hope you don't mind sharing a bunk with me. I have to warn you - I snore like a congested rancor."

Sarisa chuckled. "Not at all. I shared a bed with my sister for two years when I was younger. At least I have my own bed and I won't be getting kicked while I'm trying to sleep. I'd be more concerned about the pampered prince who grew up on Columex."

"Pampered prince? I'll have you know I grew up on the lowest level of Lunis City," Seb said, voice laden with faux-seriousness.

"Oh? It must have been difficult to grow up in the slums with the other children of corporate lawyers."

"My parents weren't corporate lawyers, they were-" Seb stopped as the captain appeared in the doorway. Sarisa's face morphed into neutral expression, losing all cheer. The captain couldn't see that though, since she was still facing Seb.

"I hope everything is to your liking," the captain said, oblivious to the mood he had just ruined.

Sarisa responded in an upbeat tone, though her face told a different story, "Yes, thank you Eldin. Is your ship ready to depart?" The juxtaposition of tone and expression was unsettling, Seb noted.

"Of course, it's been since you got here," he responded gruffly. The man really was greasy, Seb noted. Too much hair gel, probably. Probably didn't get a lot of feedback on that sort of thing cooped up in a ship day after day.

"Leave immediately then." Seb wasn't sure whether she was talking about the trip or just leaving the room. "Please shut the door on your way out, we'll be turning in soon." That was a pretty unsubtle dismissal. She said it in the same cheery tone though. The man just grunted and closed the door. Sarisa dropped the neutral look in favor of a frown.

"That was scary."

"Shut up."

XxX

AN: In case anyone was wondering, Sarisa is pronounced like "sarissa" (the pike).

This chapter is still shorter than what'll come in the future. They'll start getting longer when more characters appear and things heat up.


End file.
